The district attorney prosecuting two Duke University athletes on rape charges fought off two challengers in the Democratic primary Tuesday and vowed to continue pursuing the headline-grabbing case.

“The case continues to go forward,” said Mike Nifong, who insisted the election had not become a referendum on his handling of the investigation into rape allegations involving the school’s lacrosse team.

“There is no way to tell if it hurt or helped,” Nifong said. “I really felt like I was by far the best candidate.”

In unofficial results, Nifong had 45 percent of the vote, with challenger Freda Black close behind with about 42 percent. There are no Republicans running in the general election, and Nifong needed only 40 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff.

Some voters agreed with Nifong, saying it was unfair to judge the veteran prosecutor on just one case, even if it has drawn intense media scrutiny to Durham and Duke University, by far the largest employer in the county.

Nita Wiggins, a retired Durham city employee, said she voted for Nifong.

“I don’t agree with some of the decisions he’s made in the case, but I have to believe that he’s doing what he feels is correct,” Wiggins said.

Other voters were critical of Nifong, who initially talked openly about the investigation and at one point labeled some players “hooligans” and boldly predicted DNA test results would identify the guilty athletes.

Defense attorneys said those tests failed to find a match between the accuser and any player tested.

Duke canceled the remainder of the season for the highly ranked team last month after allegations that a black woman was raped and beaten by three white men at a team party where she had been hired to strip. A grand jury has indicted two players on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual assault. Nifong has said he hopes to charge a third person.

OHIO GOVERNOR

In Ohio, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell won the GOP nomination for governor Tuesday.

With more than half of precincts reporting, Blackwell led Attorney General Jim Petro with 55 percent of the vote.

Blackwell is the first black candidate to run for governor in Ohio. His ads sought to taint Petro with connections to the state’s investment in rare coins that went awry and to tie him to Republican Gov. Bob Taft, who pleaded no contest to four ethics violations last year involving a failure to report free golf outings and gifts. Blackwell is to face Democratic U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland in November.

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